Disclamer: Don't own the X-Men!
Note: All right, some people might be weirded out by the title of this fic. But I felt like writing it, for several reasons. Mainly, because Channing Tatum is going to be Gambit in next year's movie and this actor is in the Magic Mike movie and well, do I have to say more about it? In my mind, the Channing from that movie and the Gambit Channing collided into one person and here we go (I haven't seen the movie btw; only few videos of it on Youtube). I just have the gut feeling Channing will be a good Gambit. Or maybe I'm just so happy about a Gambit movie, that if the actor looks perfectly like him or not, is not so important to me. But well, this is how I feel and I hope you guys can be optimistic about this movie; I know I am! Also, in this fic I wanted to depict Rogue a little more like the Rogue from the 90's animated series and/or the comics. So please, approach to this (awkward) little piece, for fun, because that's my intention with it. That, and supporting Channing XD Sorry, I'll stop now (btw, it will have 4 chapters, 5 at most).
Chapter 1: Where?
Rogue went down the stairs of the X-Men mansion jogging already. It was just past 7 am of this cloudy Saturday morning and she preferred to work out when there weren't two dozen people buzzing around in every square inch of the house. Usually, they didn't wake up too early on weekends, but with these people, you never knew. So many personalities, backgrounds, let alone mutant powers, living under the same roof wasn't something too easy to deal with. But after five years, she had already got used to it.
Luckily, everyone seemed to be still snoring, because she didn't meet anyone on her way to the kitchen's back door. When she finally found herself in the outdoors, she breathed in the early morning air and picked up her long hair in a high pony tail, quickly, since she didn't want to lose her brief warm up.
Her grey, lose sweatshirt was good enough against the chilly breeze that hit her in the face with no mercy as she jogged. The backyard of the mansion was pretty much a whole forest: lawn, bushes, trees and some benches here and there, plus a gazebo some teenagers went to at night, to make out and drink alcohol, that is, until getting caught by Logan, Scott, Jean or Storm, and subsequently getting told off for hours plus grounded with extra Danger Room sessions. When Rogue first got to the institute, she was a teen as well. Not like she could have engaged in those kinds of gazebo activities anyway, at least not in one of them.
Was she becoming one of the 'old ones' from the house? Like Jean and those guys? It looked like it. Truth is, she wasn't a teenager anymore.
"Bon jour, cherie!" she heard a voice behind her back and before she could even turn around, he was already jogging by her side. "Can Remy join y'?"
"If yah can keep up with me, sure" she retorted, eyes up front.
"Uuuuuh! Can keep up with this, an' more, y' should just lemme show y'!" he said, in that shameless way he used to say… well, almost everything.
Rogue raised her brows and chuckled almost imperceptibly. Then she took a glimpse at him and saw him grinning, of course, with that already well known Gambit smile that made 90 per cent of the female population of the mansion drool. She liked to think she belonged to the other 10 per cent.
"Ah think Ah've had enough of yah in the last month, so Ah'm gonna pass".
"An' I'm gonna insist" he continued, while turning around and running backwards, so he was facing her now. "What do y' say we go for som' coffee after dis, hein? I know y' like yer coffee early in de mornin'".
She had been tempted to say yes several times before, but had always refused. Because she'd noticed it: even when there were tons of people around, including girls that were both hot and able to touch another human being, he would stare only at her, nonstop. He would talk to her. Sit by her side. Appear out of nowhere, like this grey morning. And as much as she secretly enjoyed it, she knew she had to be cautions, not to become the rarest prey of Remy LeBeau so far: the untouchable one.
"'Course! There's plenty of coffee in the kitchen".
"Also in a lotta nice Café's in town! I know a couple few y'd like".
A part of her screamed WHY NOT? while another one shouted a skin chilling WATCH OUT!
The second one won.
"Ah don't think so Remy, but thanks".
He sighed loudly and ran his fingers through his hair. Then, turned back around to continue jogging face to the front: "All right, guess for de moment we can just work out together".
She wasn't sure if he had meant something else with this, but anyway, she decided to just let it go.
They continued jogging up and down some small hills, while talking about whatever thing. And she could understand the younger girls: 'Dear Jesus Jones, what a walking heartthrob', Tabitha had gasped the first time she saw him. 'Oh my God! Is that the new guy? He's so dreamy!" This had been Kitty. Rogue had never said it out loud, and never would, but of course he was a gift to the eyes. And a ladies' man and a god damn charmer as well. So no, nothing between them could go any further than a jog in the park or a cup of coffee in the mansion's kitchen. Not like it could, anyway.
An hour later they were already sipping their respective coffees, in a kitchen crowded with flying people, blocks of ice sliding across the table, beams of light heating oatmeal bowls and four identical kids eating four identical sandwiches.
(…)
"Excuse me Professor, yah wanted t' talk to me?"
Rogue took a peek inside Charles Xavier's office. He had asked her to go there after lunch, that is, telepathically. She still wasn't used to those sudden messages inside her head, like it was a radio that got tuned to, out of nowhere.
The man was sitting behind his desk, reading something, but as soon as he sensed she was approaching to the door, he rested the papers back on the table.
"Yes, Rogue, please come in". She closed the large wooden door behind her back. "Please, take a seat". She did, and the legs of the chair made a screeching sound when she dragged it, that resounded in the whole room.
She remembered how this place used to intimidate her a little, during her first couple of years in the institute. Now, it was just another room. One where she tried to be quieter, anyway.
What was this about?
"All right, I will be very concise" the Professor stated: "You are aware that Mr. LeBeau has been a part of the team and has been living here for almost a month now, correct?"
"A month? Yeah, sure." Her gloved hands rested on her lap.
"And are you aware of the fact that his past is not the brightest of all?"
She thought this was a little harsh to say, but anyway, she just nodded. It was true, after all.
"I believe he is hiding something from us" he said gravely: "And I don't mean something about his past, which he has all the right to keep silence about, if he wishes. I am talking in present tense. Something… some activities that we should know about and… don't".
This didn't surprise her much. In the department of mystery guys, it was hard to tell if it was Logan or the Cajun, the one who had the lead. But to Remy's disadvantage in the matter, at least the Wolverine had been an X-Man for ages. Remy, only for weeks.
"I'm not sure if it is something related to the Brotherhood, the Acolytes… Magneto, maybe, which I hope is not the case. Because I do hope so, Rogue; I hope he is not some sort of a spy".
"Okay. An' where do Ah enter?"
Xavier nodded slightly and went on: "I want you to follow him tonight and see where he goes".
Rogue was surprised: "That's it?"
"So far, yes. And of course, you let me know everything suspicious you can find out".
"'kay, but why me?"
The Professor raised his brows: "Why not?"
(…)
It was already 7 pm when Rogue found herself in the mansion's large garage. Scott's convertible, Storm's electric compact car and Logan's bike were there, plus a van, couple other cars and since few weeks ago, Remy's bike too. It was where it always used to be: at the left side, close to the metallic wall. She approached to it and did it as fast as she could: take the GPS locator out of the back pocket of her jeans (it was the size of a peanut); crouch besides the bike and stick the thing in a place where he couldn't see it; stand up and get away. It took her less than thirty seconds overall, time during which she feared he would materialize out of thin air (him and his thief skills) and catch her checking under his bike.
But it didn't happen, so she just headed back to her bedroom without looking back.
"All right" she said to herself, while turning her computer on and sitting on her bed in Indian position: "Let's see where this cocky Cajun goes tonight".
Moments later, a map of the area popped up in the screen, made up of green lines. A red dot blinked repeatedly in the center.
"Take your time, sugah" she murmured, while changing her position and lying on the bed, on her stomach and elbows.
She was thinking about going downstairs and getting something to eat, when the red dot started to blink faster and move, not twenty minutes later.
"Aha! There yah go, sweetie".
She saw as the dot moved away from the mansion and towards the city. It took the main highway and then went on many more blocks. Her laptop's screen really looked like a labyrinth at this point, with green lines, black squares and the red dot moving further and further.
"Yah gonna stop by any time soon?"
She saw a couple of videos of cats and scrolled down several tons of useless Facebook information, when, about half an hour later, a louder "beep!" brought her back to the GPS tab.
The red dot had finally stopped by.
That is, Remy had arrived wherever he was going.
The dot was right besides what seemed to be a house or a building.
She looked up for the address of the place.
"Can't believe the Professor makes me babysit this…"
The address appeared on the screen, along with the line: "Hunks-a-Million: Ladies entertainment strip club".
Note: It's scary to write such a weird fic. Out of all of my scary, weird fics, I think this is the weirdest and scariest one, if that makes sense. But I'm enjoying writing it! Hope you enjoy reading it. And please, drop me a review and tell me what you think of this craziness!